I can't believe we're in the final throes of training before the NYC Marathon! Race day is 5 weeks away! This was an excellent training week in which I worked hard on two key things: 1. Eating very well so as to maximize proper fueling of workouts, and 2. recovery, which is absolutely critical if a guy my size is going to run 26.2mi.

After last Sunday's run up to TTL, my feet were quite sore. Coach Susan wants me to have them looked at by a foot doc, so I will try to do that this week. I suspect it might be the shoes, or my girth/weight/heft/whatevs, but it's a good idea to have them checked out. Last week was also ridiculously busy at work, such that I did the minimum number of actual workouts and wasn't able even to ride my bike or go to yoga. Boo.

But... "track" workout on Wednesday was hill repeats, and I managed two more than last time, for a total of five. My glutes were SORE on Thursday, but in a very good way. It was awesome to see my Team Chances teammates tear up and down that hill at what is for me a dizzying pace. I love being inspired by them. Even better, Wanda and Lola came along, and walked around the park for an hour while I did the hill; I love when they join me for training adventures!

And Saturday was the best day of all: the day I set a personal distance record of 15 miles! I know that's still a far cry from the 26.2 I'll have to put in in five weeks. But it was amazing to have that in the bank and to know I could have gone further. The best part about this mid-volume training is that I am now basically running a half-marathon every second weekend or so. I remember when I started running that even a mile seemed daunting! Now, 13 times that is not a huge deal, even though I am slow and plodding.

FYI: Ben Greenfield's fitness podcasts help pass the time (if you haven't already, check them out here: http://www.bengreenfieldfitness.com/category/podcast/ - they are both informative and entertaining).

The upcoming week of training looks great, beginning with an 8mi run to the office this morning, track on Wednesday, yoga on Friday, and some other goodies mixed in. And this week is also the week I start my Born Fitness online coaching / training program with fitness guru Adam Bornstein. This guy knows his stuff. Follow him on https://twitter.com/bornfitness or https://www.facebook.com/BornFitness. When I was most successful at weight loss and performance improvement, I was doing either bootcamp or crossfit. This time around, I haven't done either, and my progress has been slower (though my running endurance has increased via running-specific training). Born will rectify this situation, such that I am leaner, stronger, more flexible, and maybe even a little faster for my upcoming races. Yay!